Mother and Child Reunion (2)
"Mother and Child Reunion (2)", is the second part to the two-parter series premiere episode of the Canadian television series ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', which premiered on 14 October 2001 on CTV Television and on 1 July 2002 on The N. The episode was written by story editors Aaron Martin and series creative consultant Yan Moore, and directed by Bruce McDonald. Much like the majority of Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes, "Mother and Child Reunion" is named after a pop song and in this case, it shares its title with the song by Paul Simon. Plot Synopsis Brief Summary Main Plot While her mother attends the reunion, Emma visits Jordan at his hotel where she meets his teacher, Mr. Nystrom (Jeff Gruich). He takes her up to Jordan's hotel room but as they enter, Emma sees that it is completely empty except for a video camera which has been set up. She immediately becomes suspicious and tries to escape but Nystrom blocks her access to the bedroom door. She locks herself in the bathroom, and comes to the startling realization that Nystrom is Jordan. Nystrom apologizes, and tells her he will let her go, but when she comes out of the bathroom, he grabs and restrains her. Unable to get in contact with Emma, Manny tells Toby and J.T. that she is afraid that Emma may have gone to meet Jordan. They break into Emma's e-mail account and realize that Jordan has told her a number of lies. They discover which hotel Emma is meeting Jordan at, and rush to the school to inform Spike. As Nystrom attempts to rape Emma, Spike and Snake arrive just in time to save her. Emma manages to break free from Nystrom and rushes out of the hotel room. Snake restrains Nystrom until the police arrive to take him away. Sub Plot Meanwhile, at the reunion party, Joey and Caitlin meet Alison Hunter (Sara Holmes), another Degrassi High attendee. As the evening progresses, Joey overhears Keith and Alison flirting with each other and Keith reveals he does not want to marry Caitlin. When Joey confronts Keith, their argument turns into a physical altercation, and Alison has to tell Caitlin about Keith's hesitance over getting married. In the end, Joey and Caitlin have a heart-to-heart discussion about their past and their relationships, and after ten years, finally make amends. Extended Overview The next day, people and former students from all over are showing up for Degrassi's 10 year reunion. Snake, Caitlin, Joey, and Lucy are given a tour of the new and improved Degrassi, while Keith goes to get them drinks out of boredom. After a talk, Joey and Caitlin decide to be friends again putting the past in the past and the present in the past. However, back at the reunion party, Joey overhears Keith, flirting with one of Joey's old friends (Allison Hunter), having doubts over his planned marriage. Allison's flirtatious peaks when she tells Keith that he's an artist and should be open to new experiences and that she would love to come visit him, which he responds by giving her an invitation for him to go out with her, and show her around. Meanwhile, over the phone, Emma lies to Manny, saying that she decided not to meet Jordan, and will be busy watching a television show about the Wildlife Refuge, and thus cannot meet with Manny for their movie night. During the evening, Emma took a taxi to the hotel where she planned to meet Jordan. She enters and waits for him in the main foyer. At Toby's house, Manny arrives and informs Toby and J.T. of her suspicions of Emma. Citing that Emma wasn't at home, unresponsive to cell phone calls, and the show she was supposed to watch wasn't even on, Manny, Toby, and J.T. speculate that Emma is indeed meeting Jordan, contrary to what she told them. Toby now tries to hack into her e-mail by abusing the password recovery program. Back at the hotel, Emma is spotted by a male adult who claims he's Jordan's teacher on the school trip. He invites Emma to go to his room to meet Jordan and the rest of his classmates to which Emma agrees to (after she heard that Jordan brought his petition all the way from Yellowknife for her to sign). The man brings Emma into his hotel room and offers her pizza. He then shows her his camera saying that he's making a video journal of the school trip. After realizing that there were no other kids that were actually in the room, Emma attempts to leave but finds that the door is locked. Unable to leave, she locks herself in the bathroom, realizing that the man was really Jordan all along. Emma and "Jordan" start talking and she says she wants to go home. In his attempts to comfort her, the man says that he will be going down to the lobby and it will be her choice if she wants to leave or not. However, after some time, she exits the washroom and tries to leave, but the door is closed by "Jordan", who was still in the room. "Jordan" then tells Emma that if she screams, he will tape her mouth shut. He then takes her onto his bed and sets up a video camera to film him raping her. "Jordan" starts whispering in her ear and moving over to her while she is shaking. He then tells her that he will be with her for hours. During Caitlin's speech at the reunion, Joey confronts Keith about his intentions. After an argument, they get into a fight until held off by his fellow classmates. Caitlin then realizes Keith didn't want to marry her and promptly leaves. Outside, Caitlin breaks down crying saying that Keith wasn't the one while confiding in Joey. She calls herself a fraud and references herself giving Emma relationship advice the other night. Joey finally opens up to Caitlin and talks about his relationship with Julia. The two then have a long heart-to-heart discussion and finally reconcile after ten years. Toby eventually manages to access Emma's blog page and with the help of J.T. and Manny, he is able to answer her secret password questions correctly and gain access to her e-mail's. Toby proudly says that if he could do it, so could Jordan. After the three review Emma's emails, they discover that "Jordan" had been reading her them to make Emma feel like they share common interests. Once finding out which hotel and room Emma planned to meet "Jordan" in, the trio of friends run to Degrassi Community School to inform the her mother of their discovery. Upon arriving at Degrassi, they warn Spike and Snake about Emma. Spike starts panicking, quickly calls the police, leaves the reunion early and starts driving off to the hotel with Snake, while Manny, Toby and J.T. stay behind after doing everything they could do to help Emma. At the hotel, "Jordan" begins touching Emma's legs, brushing up against her and kissing her neck, while she sits on the bed, cringing and shaking. However, before he could rape her, Spike and Snake make it in time to rescue Emma. They bang on the door and plead for her to open it. She somehow escapes Jordan's grip and runs to the door. She quickly bolts outside and stands next to her mother, while Snake threatens the Internet predator, saying that if he made another move, that he would break his neck. The police promptly arrive to arrest "Jordan", who is revealed to be a repeat offender. Back at the Nelson's house, the police take Emma's computer as evidence and urge Spike to keep it in the living room when it's returned, in order to keep the cyber stalkers out of her room. Emma and her mother argue over her decisions, and she explains that it's impossible to talk with her mom as she doesn't remember what it's like to be 12. When Spike convinces Emma that they can talk anytime, they share a closer and stronger bond to not keep secrets from each other ever again. Cast Regular Cast (Ordered alphabetically) * Stefan Brogren as Archie Simpson * Ryan Cooley as J.T. Yorke * Jake Goldsbie as Toby Isaacs * Miriam McDonald as Emma Nelson * Melissa McIntyre as Ashley Kerwin * Christina Schmidt as Terri MacGregor * Cassie Steele as Manny Santos * Dan Woods as Principal Raditch Supporting Cast * Anais Granofsky as Lucy Fernandez * Pat Mastroianni as Joey Jeremiah * Stacie Mistysyn as Caitlin Ryan * Amanda Stepto as Christine Nelson Guest Starring * Ho "Oyster" Chow as Policeman * Jeff Gruich as Mr. Nystrom (Jordan) * Sara Holmes as Alison * Don McKellar as Keith Absences *Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt *Daniel Clark as Sean Cameron *Lauren Collins as Paige Michalchuk *Aubrey Graham as Jimmy Brooks *Shane Kippel as Spinner Mason Quotes *Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): (Talking to Emma) "Jordan's a pretty impressive kid." (Hands Emma the hotel room pass key). "After you." (Emma opens the door and the two walk inside). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): (Knocks on door to the next room). "Hey guys pizzas here." (Emma sits down on an chair, while Mr. Nystrom sits on the bed across from her). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "We're gonna be making a video journal of this trip. It's a really big deal for these kids to be coming out here." (Emma smiles and nods). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "Well, there's no use in letting this pizza get cold. The guys are gonna be back in here any minute." (Emma takes her slice of pizza). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "You know, Jordan talks about you all the time. I hear you're a fellow hiker." (Emma smiles and uncomfortably nods again). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "I take the guys hiking up in Yellowknife all the time. There's some really amazing trails there." (He looks at Emma who hasn't eaten her pizza yet). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "What's the matter? You don't like mushrooms?" Emma: "No, I'm not hungry. Do you know what? I think I left my bag downstairs. I'm just gonna go and see if its there." (Emma gets up and starts walking to the door). (Jordan looks on the chair and notices Emma's bag). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "Emma! Your bags right here." (Emma runs to the door, while Jordan follows her). (Emma tries to open the door but its locked. She turns around in fear to have Jordan staring and smiling at her). (Emma runs into the bathroom and closes the door). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): "What's going on?" Emma: (S''haking'') "You're Jordan aren't you?!" *(When Snake and Spike find Emma, she runs out of the hotel room terrifed). Mr. Nystrom (Jordan): (Explaining) "There's been a misunderstanding." Snake: (Grabs Mr. Nystrom and shoves him against the wall) "If you make a move, I'm gonna break your neck." Issues Faced *Internet relationships *Meeting Internet friends in person *Dangers of the Internet *Lying to parents *False hopes of marriage Soundtrack *"We Can't Look Back" **Written by Eddie Schwartz **Performed by Amy Sky Trivia and Notes * This episode shares its title with a song by Paul Simon. *Although credited, the following characters are all absent in this episode: **Sarah Barrable-Tishauer (Liberty Van Zandt) **Daniel Clark (Sean Cameron) **Lauren Collins (Paige Michalchuk) **Aubrey Graham (Jimmy Brooks) **Shane Kippel (Spinner Mason) *Melissa McIntyre (Ashley Kerwin) makes an appearance in this episode but is not listed in the end credits as she only appears briefly in one scene. *The character featured in the final freeze frame for this episode was Emma (second time). * When Spike calls the police, she never says anything about Emma being in a hotel, or what room she is in, and yet the police miraculously arrive at the exact hotel and room Emma was held in. * Emma's computer is taken as evidence against the internet stalker. The only evidence would be the e-mails, which would be hosted on the servers of the website. * There is a poster in the bathroom scene between Joey and Caitlin that says, The pill is not enough. The N censored this in the United States. See also *Degrassi: The Next Generation *Degrassi: The Next Generation (Season 1) *Mother and Child Reunion (1) Category:Degrassi: The Next Generation Category:Episodes Category:Degrassi: TNG episodes Category:Two-part episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Characters Category:Degrassi: TNG characters Category:Degrassi: TNG kids Category:Degrassi: TNG adults Category:Relationships Category:Friendships Category:Internet Predator Category:Sexual Harrasment Category:Season 1 Episodes Category:Reunion